Lyme Bay NCI
NEWSLETTER
Issue 2 No. 4 October 2012
QUEENS AWARD FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE
Members have already been circulated by e-mail an account of the receipt of the QAVS award from Princess Anne at NCI Portland Bill.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A number of comments made at the AGM have been addressed by the LB/Management Committee and changes will be implemented at the next AGM. Thank you to all who helped with the bar-b-q, especially Rosemary and Clare, and to David Bayer of Litton Cheney who supplied most of the food as a donation to LB/NCI.
OLYMPIC SAILING
The extra watches necessitated by the three daily sessions during the Olympic Sailing at Weymouth put a lot of pressure on our small watch keeping team who gallantly stepped into the breach to fill all the shifts. This was an admirable achievement not least by Bob Martin our Watch Bill Keeper who must have had a number of headaches! No evidence of terrorist activity were reported by LB/NCI but VHF communications were heard of exclusion zone infringements requiring action by the Royal Marines.
DECLARED FACILITY STATUS
The following article was published in The Watchkeeper Summer 2012:
The DFS western assessment team Anne Channing and Colin Pomeroy arrived at the Lyme Bay NCI lookout for a primary inspection in time for the three nominated and intrepid watchkeepers to open up the station. This was a good start as the three guinea pigs had prearranged their duties. First the station manager was interrogated on the station procedures and all seemed to go well. Then it was the two younger watchkeepers turn. As the older watchkeeper with more than his fair share of butterflies, I listened intently while still keeping a normal lookout. The inspection team was joined by Steve Williams from the Portland Coastguard, in time for a highlight of the day with our DSM in civvies running and panting into the LO to report his grandson had fallen over the cliff. All the correct procedures were followed including a GPS reading of the Ordnance Survey grid reference. We have since nominated our DSM for an Oscar!At intervals we had informal talks with the assessors from which we had no illusions, we were being examined by very experienced watchkeepers, who willingly passed on helpful tips on such topics as interpreting SAR helicopter and lifeboat activities from VHF messages. Time was passing so I was beginning to think age had some privileges, but no such luck, the butterflies hatched when it was my turn to be grilled. Afterwards I thought of much better answers to some of the questions, but this was a bit more than a normal watch, adrenalin levels were too high. The approach of the afternoon watch was a very welcome sight but before that the assessors kindly held a wash up from which we deduced that we had not disgraced ourselves, much to Anne’s relief as it was her first DFS primary assessment.
All the LB/NCI members involved agreed with the SM’s comments that the assessors conducted a courteous, constructive and very professional assessment process, which was a great deal less fraught than anticipated. This was entirely thanks to the very positive approach adopted by the assessors. Needless to say we are overjoyed by the result.
NEW WATCHKEEPERS
Congratulations to Pearl Marsland, Gary Reading, John Davies and Judith Gifford on passing the assessment to become a qualified watchkeepers.
BURTON BRADSTOCK CLIFF LANDSLIDE
Following the tragic accident in which a young lady was killed due to a 140 ton land slide from the cliff between Burton and Freshwater, the entire NCI/LB emergency team was called out in response to a Portland Coastguard request for help to clear the beach under high cliffs between Cogden and Lyme Regis. In all 23 of our members were involved. Our admirable training to think logically and be prepared for the unexpected was put to great effect and subsequent messages of thanks have been received from Steve Williams for Portland Coastguard and the National NCI Chairman Alan Richards.
Anyone who has been on watch since the beach west of the lookout has been closed will no doubt have stories to tell of their heroic and sometimes vain attempts to persuade members of the public to obey the warning notices. A very frustrating time! I managed to scare myself but not the two members of the public entering the dangerous cliff exclusion zone by accidentally switching on the loud hailer siren. Thanks for our efforts in keeping the public away from the dangerous cliff path and beach have been received from Helen Mann of the National Trust.
INCIDENTS
On Saturday 21st July, while Mike Seaman was on watch, the CG Helicopter was requested to attend a sinking angling boat with 3 PB, 0.5 NM off Swyre. By the time the helo was on the scene the angling boat was making way off the Lookout and Mike was able to report its new position to the CG. The Helo locked on and confirmed that the angling boat was not sinking but had steering problems. The vessel was subsequently safely taken under escort to West Bay harbour.
On August 22nd Barry Scott reported to the coastguard that people were hammering stakes into the unstable cliff path. The West Bay Coastguards attended and warned the offenders of the dangers of initiating a further cliff fall.
JURASSIC COAST PROJECT
Alice Angus made a visit to the Lookout on 28th May and had a long interview with William Knapman concerning the hazards of Lyme Bay and its notorious sea conditions resulting in many wrecks. Not surprisingly the interview was steered into an advert for NCI funding and recruitment. This arts project will be displayed at Bridport Arts Centre from Saturday 13th October until Saturday 24th November. There will be a free guided tour of the exhibition on Sat 13th and Sat 27th October, and Sat 10th November at 1400 hrs.
MELPLASH AND DORSET COUNTY SHOWS
Peter Merrick was thrown in at the deep end on being appointed as the Events Organiser with the task of arranging our stands for the two Dorset agricultural shows. At the Melplash show a dozen prospective trainees were recruited. £11-46p was collected as donations but as Peter had arranged for the exhibitors fee and six tickets for the stand helpers to be waived we can not complain! Well done Peter, and thank you to Rosemary Lyth who loaned the gazebo. Also thanks to the stand helpers Ross Wallace, Pearl Marsland, Pam Armitage, Clive Edwards and Roger Hudd.
The Dorset County Show was arranged in conjunction with the other three Dorset NCI’s, with Peter acting as LB/NCI coordinator, assisted by Clare Reeves and David Last doing shifts on the stand. Some 180 visitors were given an insight into the activities of the NCI, a further 12 potential trainees took an application form, and the total cost to NCI/LB was £57-27.
LB/NCI VILLAGE CAFÉ
A fundraising and recruitment drive will be held at Litton Cheney Village Hall on Saturday 10th November from 1030 to 1230 hrs. The event will include stalls selling refreshments (usually very appetizing), books, records and DVD’s, and anything else that members wish to contribute. Any bright ideas please contact Rosemary Lyth or Pam Armitage.
TRAINING SESSIONS
All sessions will be held at Litton Cheney Village Hall starting at 1930 hours.
Date / First Session / Second Session8th October2012 / Tides, tidal streams and currents. Local knowledge. Use of tide tables and tidal diamonds on charts. Predicting tidal heights and direction. Correct log entries. / Discovering Wind direction and strength. The Beaufort scale. Correct log entries.
Exercise
22nd October 2012 / Chartwork – part One.
Understanding Charts and symbols. Principles of projection, latitude and longitude and the points of the compass. Use of instruments. / Examination of a variety of charts.
Exercise
5th November 2012 / Chartwork – part Two
Plotting bearing and distance and converting to Latitude and Longitude, and vice versa. / Exercises
19th November 2012 / Meteorology / Exercise
3rd December 2012 / Ordnance Survey mapwork and how to define positions by reference to a grid reference. / Exercise
17th December 2012 / Introduction to the use and capabilities of VHF radios. The phonetic alphabet. / Exercise
7th January 2012 / Emergency and other radio messages, and how to respond to them. / Exercise
21st January 2013 / VHF recap of last two sessions. / VHF test
THE RED ARROWS
On 28th September over 50 members and guests who have been hugely supportive to the station enjoyed a presentation give by our Chairman, Air Marshal Sir Christopher Coville, on the RAF flying display team, the Red Arrows. We must all have seen the great display of the Red Arrows but Chris enlightened us on how it was achieved with an insight of the pilot skills and training involved. Thanks Chris, your presentation was a master class on how to give a lecture. Can we persuade you to think about a similar talk on the NCI?
John Rowlands
Lyme Bay NCI.
Newsletter Editor.